Robert Lloyd - a Sir Gar Blog of random news . . . and some Clecs!

By David Butler, director of Clay Shaw Butler chartered accountants and business consultants. January is the busiest month of the year for us at Clay Shaw Butler as we make sure everyone gets their tax returns sorted before the deadlines. But that doesn’t mean we ignore the other issues pressing on the minds of our customers. One of those issues has surrounded the reforms on Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT). The Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne announced changes to SDLT on residential property transactions in his Autumn Statement. This change applies to you if you are buying a home in the UK for over £125,000. Stamp duty will be cut for 98% of people who pay it. If you’re buying a home for less than £937,500, you will pay less stamp duty, or the same. Historically, SDLT has been charged at a single percentage of the price paid for the property, depending on the rate band within which the purchase price falls. Now, the SDLT system has been changed and each new SDLT rate will only ...

wind-up threat to luxury homes builders | This is South Wales The construction company which built a multi-million pound luxury housing development in Llanelli is going into liquidation – with six people being made redundant. Carms Construction Ltd — formerly known as Machynys Homes Construction — has instructed liquidators Harris Lipman LLP to help place the company into liquidation.

A new lease of life has been breathed in to an eyesore property which has lain in a state of disrepair for the past 15 years. Carmarthenshire County Council has completely renovated No.2 Station Road, Llangennech, after making use of a rare legal order to manage the property and bring it back in to use. The keys have been handed to the new tenants who are happy to be moving in to the three-bedroom family home. The property recently became the subject of the authority’s first Empty Dwelling Management Order (EDMO), which - in the absence of the owner’s cooperation - led to the service of a rarely used Final Empty Dwelling Management Order (FEDMO). Only three EDMOs have been granted in Wales, with only 50 in the UK as a whole. An FEDMO is the final stage in the process and has been rarely used in the UK. The order enables local authorities to take over management of empty properties for up to seven years. Before the order, and subsequent renovation, the property had attracted vandalism, ...

Carmarthenshire council’s property services teams have been dealing with around 100 housing emergencies per day since the extreme weather took hold on Friday. The teams, based at Trostre in Llanelli, Cillefwr in Carmarthen, and Glanamman in Ammanford, have been helping to deal with burst and frozen water pipes, broken down boilers, faulty electrics and ceiling damage, all caused by the extreme sub-zero temperatures. Almost 400 emergency calls have been attended to at council houses, and around another 40 at local schools (as at lunchtime 01/12/10). They have also helped colleagues in the council’s Street Scene department to grit icy paths and roadways leading to school entrances where it has been requested. One of the biggest emergencies they have dealt with was at Five Roads primary school, near Llanelli, which had to close on Monday due to its pipes bursting after an intensely cold weekend, causing water to bring down the ceiling and flood parts of the ground floor. Phil Lumley, head...

WalesOnline - News - Wales News - Mumbles – the Monaco of Wales You cannot be serious! The Monaco of Wales!